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  Chapter 12: Consequences

  Kyrith woke the next morning with a fog in his mind, the stiff ache in his body a reminder of his actions last night. He placed one hand on the bed, only to recoil in pain as he tried to put weight on it. As he stared at his hands, he saw the bandages and remembered the exchange with his sister last night. That was something he was going to have to sort out this morning, there wasn’t any way to hide it from her now, not when she had seen his bloodied state. He rolled over with care to avoid injuring himself and spotted Shae sitting on the other bed. She was holding an assortment of papers, documents that she had glanced up from now that he had woken.

  "How are you feeling?" she queried, shuffling the documents back into a neat pile and placing them down beside her.

  "Sore, tired. How about you?" Kyrith replied, watching his sister raise an eyebrow at the question.

  "I've been worried about you, last night was a shock."

  "Sorry, I have some explaining to do, I know."

  Shae fidgeted, taking a deep breath. She held up a finger and disappeared out the door, returning a few minutes later with a cup of water. Kyrith took the hint, appreciative of the gesture.

  "Nathaniel's starting to push his position; his actions are getting increasingly aggressive," Kyrith stated, pausing to take a sip of water after the short speech made him notice his thirst.

  "Explains this." Shae gestured to the stack of papers. "Keeping me busy with pointless tasks."

  "He tried to get Amnur to kill demons in cold blood, the first time he refused, and he was punished there and then. The second time he was convinced that Nathaniel believed him, but given what just happened, evidently, that wasn't the case."

  "This is the first time I hear about this and why?" Shae said, seeing Kyrith adopt a sheepish expression. "What happened?"

  "Nathaniel took leave for a few days, the reason being to hunt down Amnur's parents and bring their mutilated bodies back for him to see." Kyrith sighed, turning his hands over to reveal the bandages. "I took them out of the castle and buried them along the coast last night, you caught me afterwards."

  "Is Amnur alive?"

  "Yes, how much he wishes to be is questionable," he replied, watching as Shae's expression to one of relief but also one of pain. Amnur was an outsider in this whole affair; for Nathaniel to drag him into it and cruelly punish him for not being willing to participate was despicable.

  "Now for the other question; why is this the first time I hear about it?" Shae turned the conversation back, not allowing Kyrith to avoid the issue.

  "I didn't want to drag you into this mess, the last thing I would want is to see you killed by Nathaniel, not after the state I saw Amnur's mother left in."

  "I can handle myself you know, but the concern is appreciated." Shae puffed, giving her brother a reassuring pat on the back. She wasn't angry at being left out, he was just protective of her.

  "I was coming to inform you after the events of late night; this has gotten out of my control now, and I need your help," Kyrith admitted. "Nathaniel needs to be stopped somehow before he does something irreparable."

  "I'll have to play it careful if he suspects anything it'll push him to act faster and from desperation comes danger."

  "These are truly dangerous times to live in," Kyrith replied, seeing his sister nod in reply.

  "Are you going to be alright to keep your involvement hidden?" She gestured at his hands, they were a visible sign that something had happened last night.

  "Yeah, I can just wear my armour and keep my wounds hidden; I've not seen any ordered action for a while. I get the odd spar request, but I can just act grumpy and refuse for a while."

  "That shouldn't be hard for you," Shae teased with a smile.

  "Oi," he laughed, feeling his body ache as he did so. He let out a sigh, he could take a day away from the keep safely enough that no one would suspect much. The only thing he would need to do is slip Dumon a message, letting him know that he’s safe and to check on Amnur. “Do you still have my communication orb?”

  “I haven’t rifled through your stuff, so it should still be in the same place you left it. If you need anything, let me know alright?”

  “Thanks,” Kyrith replied, cringing slightly as Shae stood up and gave him a hug, before leaving him alone in the spare room. He sat there a while longer, glancing over to the key on the table; Amnur’s key. It looked clean, his sister had cleaned it up while he was asleep. Eventually, he decided to get up and grabbed the change of clothing, along with the key before heading off to the room that served as a bathing room. The warmth from the cleansing shower came as a great relief, though he wondered if the stench of blood had burned into his nose by this point. Once he was done, he dried himself and put on his new clothing. Shae had specifically selected items that would work under his armour, although that described most of his wardrobe. Kyrith then walked to his room, pulling out an orb from underneath a roughly piled blanket. He placed both hands on it and settled down on the bed, waiting for a signal to indicate that Dumon had grabbed his relay.

  Dumon listened intently to the young demon’s words, glad that he had managed to do as promised without a hitch. It was regrettable that he couldn’t find any jewellery for Amnur, but the question of what Nathaniel did with it and where he stored it if he decided to keep it was a risk too far. Kyrith avoided mentioning his injuries, but the experienced healer could hear the exhaustion in his voice. Amnur had been asked after, and the response was simply that he was doing as well as one could hope. He was quiet but not silent, undoubtedly his mental state was far from mended. However, he appeared to possess a desire to continue, even if he was despondent last night. The news cheered up Kyrith, which in turn warmed Dumon. One of the things that the healer had managed to arrange in the early hours of the morning was someone he could trust to clean up Amnur’s room for him. While it wouldn’t clean up the memories, it would at least remove the smell of blood.

  The final bit of information that Kyrith relayed was that his sister now knew about the situation, so now they had a reliable ally in this cause. Still, it didn’t mean they could be any less vigilant; any information that Nathaniel got hold of would mean their deaths. He bid farewell to his companion, for now, slipping in a comment about taking it easy, causing Kyrith to stutter. Dumon then buried the communication orb out of sight in a pile of clothing, before calmly walking out of his personal room, just in case someone other than Amnur was present. To his relief, the only one there was the battered mage, who was idling creating small flames in his hands before smothering them.

  “Kyrith respectively buried your parents for you,” Dumon spoke up as he approached him, settling down on the edge of the bed. “He couldn’t find anything for you though, there wasn’t anything left.”

  Amnur swallowed hard. The mage didn’t need Dumon to elaborate to know what he meant. “I have my memories, that’s what counts, right?” He tried to force a smile; he couldn’t expect anyone to risk themselves to retrieve their possessions.

  “That’s right,” the healer replied, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ve had your room cleaned up for you, and your injuries aren’t severe enough to keep you on bed rest if you wanted to get some fresh air, it may help. Don’t think I’m pushing you out if you wanted to stay, however, it’s just a suggestion.”

  The fresh air did sound good, take him away from the obsidian, imprisoning walls. He also didn’t wish to land Dumon in danger, just in case Nathaniel decided to come sniffing. The King did appear to leave him alone immediately after a lesson, but Amnur would rather not take the chance. “I think I’ll do that. Keeps you safe, too.”

  “You can cast, just note your limits, although I would hope that wouldn’t be necessary.”

  Dumon slipped off the bed to allow Amnur space to get off, to which the mage followed. Amnur found his balance was uneasy as he placed his feet on the floor, finding Dumon grabbing him to keep him steady. Once he was ready, Dumon let him go and watched as he t
ook a few tentative steps. He was still sore, but he felt the walk would help ease his muscles, or at least his mind. Slowly, he walked out of the healer chamber and ambled towards the main entrance of Shadekeep. After a short while, the lush green of the outside was visible, and Amnur felt a weight lifting, eager to reach the expanse before Nathaniel decided to call on him.

  His feet reached the soft green, the sun washing the area with its warmth. Today, he opted to find a location that was further away from the keep, out of immediate sight. Amnur sat down after a period next to a tree, relaxing his back against its solid trunk and letting his wings spread out. He rested there for some time until he started to hear a noise; a metallic shuffling in the distance, but it appeared to be getting louder. Nathaniel didn’t often wear armour, at least whenever Amnur had seen him. This was likely a soldier, so their intention was harder to identify, although they may just be heading for the forest that was beyond him. Amnur kept his eyes closed, listening as the noise became louder, trying to ignore the disruption. Eventually, it stopped, right behind him. He still refused to open his eyes, feigning deeper sleep, hoping the newcomer was just stopping to ensure he was alright, or something similar.

  “Bandages eh? Someone got told off,” the voice teased, causing Amnur to open his eyes. The armoured demon was unknown to him, but the voice sounded awfully familiar. Before he could react, the intruder reached over and pinched Amnur’s closest hand, causing the demon to flinch at the sudden onset of pain. “Mhm, that’s painful alright.”

  “Can I help you?” Amnur growled, unsure how to respond. This wasn’t one soldier he could trust, a fact which was making him increasingly wary.

  “Help me? Oh no, I’m just enjoying this,” he replied, reaching over and squeezing Amnur’s hand once more. As the mage once again flinched, the soldier chuckled. It dawned on him on who this was; Iomor. The demon he had overheard back on his first mission, talking about Nathaniel’s plans.

  “If you’re done, would you kindly leave?”

  Iomor stared at him, unperturbed by the increased aggression. Instead, he moved closer until he was level with Amnur’s face. “Insubordination isn’t nice, you know.”

  Amnur glared, was he referring to the first time? No, the first thing he mentioned was being told off. How would he know though? Unless… Unless it was Iomor, who let the King know, after following him unnoticed to the village. Having Iomor so close to his face, mocking him after everything he had caused, it was too much.

  “You damn bastard!” Amnur spat, extending his hands wide as he lunged for the demon’s neck. Iomor cracked a sly smile as he sent the mage’s arms wide with a slap from his armour-plated arms, before jerking his arms to grab the hilts of his blades. With a smooth motion, he drew the swords across his chest into a cross formation, goading Amnur to push on further.

  The mage knew better, however, opting to give himself a small measure of distance to allow him to cast uninterrupted. His hands arched and Iomor found patches of his exposed skin alight, something he quickly rectified. Amnur went to push the advantage but saw the glimmer from Iomor’s blades change, shortly before the demon performed a swift lunge. One edge went wide as the mage leant back to avoid the charge, cleaving off the end of his long, black hair. The other however was better aimed, he could feel the steel slice through his cheek and only narrowly miss the ear behind it.

  With Iomor’s arms wide, Amnur had to make a split-second decision. He created a small explosion near Iomor’s chest, launching the demon off his feet. The blast also knocked Amnur over backwards, a move he recovered from with haste. Iomor, unfortunately, didn’t appear to suffer much for the hit, the attack had however given Amnur the tiny bit of distance he wanted. He readied another spell, using the downtime to shuffle backwards. His opponent in the meantime had jumped into the tree, his blades now angled behind him, his once cocky expression changed to one of ire.

  A sweeping motion from his arms saw the tree burst into flames, along with the ground surrounding him. Iomor disappeared into the flames and out of Amnur’s sight, causing the demon to frantically search for him, ramping up the flames further. From behind came a blow to his knee and Amnur found himself tumbling to the floor backwards, letting out a cry as his head and back slammed on the ground. He extinguished the flames to stop himself from being burnt, only to see Iomor towering over him. The armoured demon pinned one of his arms using his leg and kept Amnur down by placing his other leg across his chest, panting all the while. Trapped, Amnur had to watch as Iomor grabbed one of his blades with both hands and raised it above his head, aiming directly for the mage’s heart. He urgently tried to think of a spell to stop Iomor with his free hand but he had to admit, he had nothing that could deter him. Helpless, his eyes went wide as the blade descended.

  No pain came, however. Instead, he felt the weight on his body suddenly disappear and heard a muffled clatter. Iomor was now lying a notable distance away from him, clutching his side. Amnur looked to his other side and had to tilt his head right back to examine the newcomer. It was Kaiser, an infuriated Kaiser. His anger didn’t appear to be directed at Amnur however, to his relief. He must have pushed Iomor off before he could land the blow; a thankful interruption.

  “Did you have to hit so damn hard?” Iomor shouted, feeling the chronic ache in his side as he staggered to his feet.

  “The hell do you think you’re doing?” Kaiser boomed; although much of the volume was likely due to his immense size, it still unnerved Amnur. Iomor, however, was unfazed, scooping up his blades and ignoring the giant as he sauntered back in the direction of the keep. “Does it look like I’m done with you?”

  “Talk to someone who cares,” Iomor replied, unwilling to turn back to face him.

  Amnur could see Kaiser debate chasing after Iomor, but a brief glance back in his direction made the demon stay. He bent down and lifted Amnur up and away from the singed ground, placing him down in a safer location and back on his feet. The demon observed Amnur’s bandaged hands and the open cut on his face, as well as his difficulty breathing.

  “Everything alright? What happened out there?” Kaiser’s voice was much smoother and quieter now; the anger the demon showed was purely at Iomor.

  “That bastard; he’s why everything is so wrong,” Amnur panted, confusing Kaiser with his odd answer. “Thanks, by the way.”

  Kaiser watched as Amnur started to walk away from him, the fact he was in pain was evident from the way he walked. He thought it unwise to interrupt the mage. Instead, he waited for Amnur to reach the keep before heading there himself, keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn’t collapse along the way.

  Amnur returned to the healing chamber, glad he didn’t bump into Iomor along the way. If the demon went for medical treatment, it wasn’t Dumon he was seeking it from. Dumon turned around to greet him with a smile, but on seeing Amnur, his expression soon sunk.

  “Iomor happened, before you ask,” Amnur spoke up pre-emptively, settling down on the bed he had been on previously.

  “Iomor? Why’s a soldier got issues with you?” Dumon replied, coming up to the mage and leaning in for a closer look at the cut on his face. It appeared shallow, though he could see it was the result of a blade.

  “He knows, he was the one that, that…” Amnur stuttered, feeling the raw emotions boiling up once more. Dumon didn’t need him to finish the sentence to work out what he was being told. Iomor was the one that told Nathaniel the truth, although he queried his intentions as to why.

  “Shh,” the healer cooed, gently tending to the cut and wiping the blood off his face. “Evidently there was a fight, are you okay?”

  “Battered. Kaiser broke it up before he could put a blade through my heart, shoved Iomor off me with some force.”

  “Kaiser’s got a good heart, and he’s trustworthy, but even with his strength I’m unsure if he could take Nathaniel.”

  “Then how do we take him down?”

  “Subterfuge, no one ever said it had to be a fair fight,�
�� Dumon reasoned. The logic sounded solid, although the thought that not even one as strong as Kaiser could take down Nathaniel was truly frightening. "Get some rest, you're going to feel sore later if you don't already.”

  ***

  Kaiser was left desiring answers after his run in with Amnur, but the mage didn't appear willing to directly talk; whether that was out of pain or fear, he was unsure. There was another option he could discuss the issue with; Rin. If there was something up, she often knew about it and the reasons why. He approached the ruling chamber's guards, who initially went to open the door for him, before pausing, sensing his desire today was different.

  "Is Sebastian or Rin inside?" Kaiser queried.

  "Sebastian I'm unsure on. We've only just changed over, and the previous guards mentioned nothing, but Rin is likely in the garden if she's by herself," one of the guards replied, glancing at the door. "I could let you in to check, but Nathaniel's not in the most receiving of moods today."

  “Don’t get yourself in trouble for me, I’ll see if I can find one or other of them.”

  The guard smiled at the comment, glad to be avoiding an earful from Nathaniel. Kaiser bid them farewell, setting off down the main corridor. The garden was one of the far rooms in the keep and one of the few places he could easily fit through the doors. That didn’t allow him much access, however. Past the entrance the paths through the garden became narrow, restricting him to the entrance. Still, it was a room that allowed for peaceful contemplation, admiring the meticulously maintained trees, shrubs and flowers that were cultured there. Rin often spent time there; the task of nurturing the plants helped to keep her calm.

  Kaiser grabbed the handles of the chamber door and tugged them open, sticking his head inside. Rin wasn’t immediately visible, but he could hear faint rustling indicating someone was inside. The gardener stopped their task and pushed through the foliage until Kaiser could tell that it was Rin that was inside.